Does Construction Experience Count if it Was Obtained in the Military?

Military experience absolutely does count when applying for a contractors license. As a matter of fact it affects the 10 year limitation and you might be able to get the whole process sped up because of your service.

The Contractors License Law and Reference Book states:

"An applicant shall not be jeopardized in computing time for service in the armed forces of the United States during a National Emergency and the length of service may be added to the 10 years mentioned above."

This means that if you did serve during a National Emergency in the last 10 years, it extends the time limitation. Let's say you served 3 years. You now can count experience in your trade going back 13 years, including your military service if it was engaging in or directly supervising the trade for which you are applying.

Another benefit if you served in the military is The Military Veterans Application and Assistance Program. See the following:

"The Military Veterans Application Assistance Program aids those who are transitioning from military service to civilian employment. In some cases, veterans possess transferable skills that help meet the minimum experience and training requirements to apply for a contractor’s license. This program offers expedited processing of veterans’ applications, including the evaluation of transferable military experience and training, as well as education.
CSLB assists military veterans by providing:

• Expedited application processing when appropriate;
• Direct contact with CSLB staff;
• Licensing staff specially trained to evaluate transferable military training and experience from all branches of the military in an effort to meet minimum licensure requirements; and
• Evaluation of college transcripts to help verify acceptable educational credit (in addition to military training and experience)."

On a personal note: Thank you for your service!

Will The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) Accept Part-Time Experience

The State of California does accept part-time experience as long as it was within the last ten years. It only counts for the actual time it would add up to as full-time. I'll give you an example. If you worked half-time for eight years it would be the equivalent of four years of full-time experience.

Will Out Of State Experience Count When Applying For a California Contractors License?

The simple answer is: Yes. Your experience can be anywhere in the world.

Does The California CSLB Accept Self-Employed Experience?

The Contractors State License Board does accept self-employed experience, even if that self-employed experience is working in the state of California without a contractors license. I believe they adopted this policy to encourage unlicensed contractors to become legal. It's better to have someone licensed, bonded and regulated than working underground.

Contractors License Experience Requirements

The Contractors State License Board http://www.cslb.ca.gov requires applicants to show four years of experience within the last ten years engaged in or directly supervising your trade. If you don't have that, education can count up to three years. Notice I said UP TO. The amount of months or years the state gives you toward the four year requirement depends on the subject(s) studied. For example, in my experience, a Bachelor's Degree in Construction Management will count the full three years while a Bachelors Degree in Business counts for only two.

Much more to come...

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Hello everyone. This blog is for those considering obtaining a California contractors license or adding a classification on their existing license.

A little about myself: My name is Mark Needham and I am the Director of License Instruction Schools, the largest contractors license school in America even though we only serve the state of California. That's how big our state is! I started License Instruction Schools in 1982. Since then we have enrolled over 100,000 students to prepare for the California contractors license exam. You can view our website contractorschool.com, watch a video that shows exactly what we do http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgE6VR4BCUM or call us at (800)346-7277.

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